Current-Generation Ultrabooks In For Price-Cuts

[Red_Machine]

I'd rather have a Prntium 4, then. Hell, my Pentium !!! laptop would be better if it had DDR RAM.

 

[n-ster]

To be fair, you have to compare the Atom N2850 to the 2004 Pentium M 765, so it would be 21W vs 6W for the CPU, and the Pientium M would still be better in single threaded applications but the N2850 would be better in multi-threaded applications. If you average it out they are about the same performance, but the Pentium consumes 3.5x the power the Atom does.Granted, we are comparing a 7+ year old chip to the Atom, but it IS a 71% power reduction accompanied with a huge size reduction. Also, it was priced at 637$ back in the day.

The i5 2557m of course, smokes these chips in almost every way, including perf/W.

But this does prove my point further. An Atom dual-core is comparable to a MOBILE chip from 2004 (probably the top one) while the i5 2557m is on par with the top mobile chip from 2009. So the top of the line gaming computers from 2009 had a chip equivalent to the i5 2557m... Granted the i5 2557m GPU is not nearly as impressive, with a GPU equivalent to the 310m, but it is more than enough for most and crushes what the Atoms have to offer, even ION 2 or the GMA 3650.

 

[MikeMurphy]

Resolutions are terrible these days. My Dell Inspiron 8100 from 2001 has a resolution of 1600x1200, granted it cost £1800 though back in the day.

I had the 8200 1600x1200 matte sexiness

 

[Red_Machine]

Oh yes. It's still going strong after 11 years. Shame about the 512MB RAM limit...

 

[EpicShweetness]

Your missing my point look at the form factor. You have to take everything and move it as a add on peripheral. I admitted the I7 (or for the matter I5) chip could do more then the Atom. However in a form factor were I can only add 2 peripheral's at the most due to the I/O limitations does anything more make sense? If your gonna buy something for blue-ray or for gaming why spend that sort of money for the sake of portability?
As a side note my netbook has a N450, and its my work computer. For all my general task's it's perfect, and as a diagnostic tool at work it's a God send. So my experience with a less then stellar Atom has taught me the diligence of why would I need more power?

 

[n-ster]

Sure you might not need the power, but not everyone is in your shoes, and if you wished to watch a Blu-ray 720P MKV then you couldn't, and if your work has a new program that helps do stuff next year and needs something more powerful, than you are out of your money basically. 150~200$ to a 600$ laptop in order to enjoy extra portability etc, IMO, is worth it. USB Hubs exist, that is a small work around, but many don't need more than the 2 USB ports. It is an ultra portable laptop, you don't usually carry around many peripherals, and at home/work USB Hubs should not be a problem. Many Screens and Keyboards also offer extra USB ports.

I don't understand your point though. Just because I do light gaming and like to watch high quality movies I automatically won't benefit much from portability? On a 5 hour bus/train/flight I'd like to be entertained with a movie or 2. I'd like to be able to bring a laptop with me to my cousin's place so I can game a little with him, without losing a competitive edge because my computer can't handle it. A lot of people, without realizing it, LIMIT themselves with their netbooks, and refrain from doing stuff they'd like to do.

I personally wouldn't buy an ultrabook, I would probably buy a Lenovo X220 with IPS screen and add a 2nd 4GB RAM DIMM myself and probably purchase an extra the 9-cell battery if the size is reasonable (while still keeping the 6-cell or 4-cell for the sake of portability when I need it). I'd also use my GT 240 as an external GPU when I am at home (using the ExpressCard). Having to buy a DisplayPort to HDMI/DVI cable doesn't bother me really.

 

[Frick]

On a 5 hour bus/train/flight I'd like to be entertained with a movie or 2.

*worried old man mode initiated*

This is something I'm pretty disturbed by actually. As soon as we have some time for ourselves we feel a need to entertain ourselves. Why are we so afraid of hanging with our own thoughts? Part of all travels are the actual travels, there is so much to see and we just close our eyes and look at flashy blingbling zooming stuff instead. When I'm traveling these days it feels like I'm surrounded by objects rather humans. If a beautiful sunrise, sunset or landscape comes by, people scoff and draw down the curtains so they can watch the Simpsons without sunglare. We are all brainwashed in some way.

*back to normal*

Aye.

 

[n-ster]

*worried old man mode initiated*

This is something I'm pretty disturbed by actually. As soon as we have some time for ourselves we feel a need to entertain ourselves. Why are we so afraid of hanging with our own thoughts? Part of all travels are the actual travels, there is so much to see and we just close our eyes and look at flashy blingbling zooming stuff instead. When I'm traveling these days it feels like I'm surrounded by objects rather humans. If a beautiful sunrise, sunset or landscape comes by, people scoff and draw down the curtains so they can watch the Simpsons without sunglare. We are all brainwashed in some way.

*back to normal*

Aye.

How about my 2 semi weekly 3 hour ride from Ottawa to Montreal and back? I've seen the scenery many times, and TBH it is boring and full of snow, often browned by dirt. Reading e-books, watching movies and listening to music is much more entertaining. It also helps me forget my ass is hurting on those uncomfortable seats and make the time go by fast